Women prepare for a power grab in church, police and BBC

Cressida Dick, the former head of counterterrorism at the Met, has emerged as the favourite to become the force’s new police commissionerPeter Nicholls/The Times

Theresa May is poised to oversee the introduction of women into three key positions of power this year, with female candidates among the frontrunners for top jobs in the police, the church and the BBC.

Recruitment is under way for a new Met police commissioner, a head of the new BBC unity board and a Bishop of London.

The prime minister has a largely symbolic role in the three appointments but has a history of encouraging women in public life and will take a keen interest in the decisions, particularly because the home secretary, Amber Rudd, selects the new head of Scotland Yard.

The deadline for applications for the Met post passes today and, in the wake of the resignation of Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, two…

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